'I am recent graduate from Interactive Arts at MMU and have been taking part in the Bankley Graduate Residency program with Sarah Kasumi Dean and Leo Robinson - both Fine Art Graduates from MMU.

I started the residency with a continuation of my final degree show work. I was thinking about femininity, family, rituals of menstruation and the moon. In all of my work I am interested in stories; history and myth, my own experience and the stories of other people around me. The work I made during the residency uses imagery taken from the story of ‘The Red Tent’, an ancient place where women would menstruate and give birth together, I focused on the sharing of stories that happened in such places and ties to the natural world, specifically the moon. Throughout the residency I focused on developing my weaving skills, I built a loom and taught myself how to weave using yarn to add pattern and images to my pieces. During the residency I was able to visit the Double Elephant print workshop in Exeter, Devon for a couple of days, I made a series of screen prints. They use some of the same imagery as my woven works (specifically female and nature / male and urban). And were inspired by a project I am part of called Raised by Feminists, with Luna Women's Foundation and the Pankhurst Trust; I decided to print them as a series in the Suffragette colours. The prints, as well as two woven pieces and some poetry will be exhibited in November.

Collaboration is something that is very important to my work. My initial interest in the Bankley residency came from fear of losing the collaborative studio environment following graduation. Sarah, Leo and I built a new studio culture and have found that links and connections between our work developed and became clear throughout the residency - almost without trying. There is imagery, stories and materials in common throughout our work and we hope that our exhibition in November will highlight the commonalities that shine through. Sometimes collaboration comes from intention; in September I spend a weekend working with my sister Isobel Ripley. She is a dancer and film maker and we have worked together in the past. In two days we made a film that will be shown in the exhibition. The following statement was our starting point:

‘The body is a political statement - everything you put onto it as clothing, piercings or tattoos opens you to judgement; your hair, or lack of hair; your scars and stretch marks; your size and shape, your nipples or thigh gap. These choices that you make with your body determine the labels that you receive. There are certain ways to treat your body that are dictated by different religions and cultures. Even God has an opinion on how you should reveal it or hide it.’

Izzy is currently working with our friend and post production editor Harvey Cash to finish editing and polish the film up. The finished film will be shown at the exhibition, it is accompanied by a poem that I wrote. The poem won’t be displayed, but you can read it here.

One of the key things I have found through doing this residency and having the time and space to really think about my practice, is that while I love textiles, weaving and making - actually the things that I am most passionate about and want to dedicate the next steps in my work to, are people, community work and stories. A huge chunk of this is through my work with Patchwork Stories; a project I developed with my Mum that looks at how story telling and collective creation can be used to answer the question ‘how, during times of struggle or challenge can we turn towards one another, rather than away?’. During the residency I went to the International Health Humanities Conference in Seville for their 5th annual event; we gave a talk about what Patchwork Stories is and how it came about. Going forward, as I move into the world as an artist, (not just a student or recent graduate) I am looking to build Patchwork Stories (patchworkstories.net) into a social enterprise or community interest company; the ideas behind the project are the core of everything I do. I am hoping that during the exhibition I can give some kind if talk or run a short workshop that explores Patchwork Stories further.'

The writing above was something I wrote following the residency, for the Bankley Studio's blog.

From 1st August - 30th September 2016 I was working in residency at Bankley Studios, along with Sarah Kasumi Dean and Leo Robinson. We will be having an exhibition of our time there opening on 4th November.

All work is my own unless otherwise stated. Do not use without permission.